Numerous types of mobile electronic devices are known. Examples of such mobile electronic devices include, for instance, personal data assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, two-way pagers, cellular telephones, and the like. Other examples of mobile devices include those whose primary function is entertainment and multimedia content reproduction, such as “mp3 players”. Many mobile electronic devices also feature wireless communication capability, although many such mobile electronic devices are stand-alone devices that are functional without communication with other devices.
A user of a mobile electronic device may wish to view a list of data items that share a certain data value. Often the user will have to navigate the graphical interface to specify search parameters. The user will specify parameters for the search, and activate a component of the graphic interface to prompt the electronic device to filter for the content using the specified parameters. Specifying filter parameters in a separate screen can be cumbersome, often requiring multiple actions from the user to perform such filtering. Since lists of data may have values that are not fully displayed on a confined display, the user may not always be able to view the data values of the data list when viewing a separate filter parameter screen. The user may not know the full value of the data items of the highlighted field. Navigating to a separate screen to determine the full value of a data item can be time consuming and cumbersome.
Some mobile electronic devices are controlled through a touch-sensitive display, also known as a touchscreen display. In response to a touch input, the mobile device can carry out an action such as filtering a list of messages. However, in devices having touch-sensitive displays sometimes it is undesirable or impractical to use the touch-sensitive display when interacting with the device. For example, touch-sensitive displays receive input by tracking the user's finger. As a result of frequently touching the display, the display may require frequent cleaning. As another example, a mobile device having a touch-sensitive display may implement a virtual keyboard interface on a touch-sensitive display. Some users may prefer a physical keyboard over the virtual keyboard because of the physical distinctions between keys and the tactile feel of the physical keyboard. Some users may prefer mobile devices with a physical keyboard over a device with a touch-sensitive display.